When you are a business or agency trying to sell a product, it is easy to fall into the trap of making your product sound like a lifeless thing. Because of this, it pays to think outside of the box. Apple, who obviously have countless great ads, did this with its "Get a Mac" campaign.
This campaign started in 2006 and lasted for about three years. Essentially, the ads were juxtaposing Mac computers with PCs. However, what made these ads so unique was that actors played the computers. Each commercial would begin with Justin Long saying, "Hello, I'm a Mac". This would be followed by the PC (played by John Hodgman) saying, "And I'm a PC."
The Mac was always well-dressed and self-assured, projecting a confidence in his own skin. For these reasons, Justin Long is a great casting choice for the commercials. The actor is cool, yet still personable and relatable. The PC, on the other hand, always wore drab, ill-fitting suits. The PC always gave off an air of uncertainty, discomfort, and foolhardiness. The Mac and the PC always found themselves in humorous, back and forth dialogues. Either the PC is in a wheelchair because his owner tripped over his power cord, or the PC is being jealous of a photo book the Mac made on iPhoto. The two computers even end up in a form of couples therapy with one another. Each commercial proposed a reason why Mac was better than PC, but did so in a humorous, one-of-a-kind way.
In typical Apple fashion, these ads are incredibly sleek and minimal. In most of the commercials, the two actors are positioned side-by-side, facing the camera, and in front of a white background. Such commitment to an aesthetic are really critical to the effectiveness of this ad. This is because — although there are no computers present — the audience can tell that this is an Apple commercial.
The personification of a brand is nothing new to the advertising world. There are iconic celebrity endorsements, of course. Some great endorsements of recent memory include LeBron James and Nike, Rob Lowe and DirecTV, or even Ellen DeGeneres and CoverGirl. However, brands can also be personified by actors and actresses that are not massive celebrities. For proof, look no further than Flo from Progressive. By personifying a brand through advertisements, a potential customer is able to establish a personal connection with an organization. Almost instantly, a customer is thinking of Progressive as Flo, not an insurance company. Apple has deployed a similar tactic in their "Get a Mac" campaign, only instead of picturing a brand when seeing the actor, the audience visualizes the product itself.
This use of the actors as the products is what makes the "Get a Mac" commercials so creative and memorable. Additionally, by using two human beings, Apple is also able to create a dialogue between their brand and their competitors. If they were not using funny actors, such claims could seem aggressive and combative. While not every brand can afford the biggest celebrity endorsement, every brand can be creative. Likewise, every brand can value the human connection between them and their audiences, rather than just a monetary connection.
